Although somehow absent the hoopla that surrounded the recent summer Olympics (in which the U.S. of course fared very well), our country has achieved a podium finish in a “contest” to assess the highest combined corporate tax rate in the world. An article published by the Tax Foundation goes into more detail here.

According to the voice in my head that makes up accurate-sounding statistics, the tempting aroma of freshly-popped popcorn will waft over 72% of homes in the country during the presidential debates, which promise to be more entertaining than any show not involving an opening kickoff, trained monkeys or a different bunch of clowns. Polls suggest that regardless of which box they check on the top of the ticket, most voters will be throwing up in their mouths a little as they cast their votes, as we face the likelihood that one of the two least popular candidates in history will take over the oval office in January.

Regardless of our preferences and overall political slants, we owe it to ourselves to become more familiar with how this election may impact our pocketbooks through our taxes, and as unpredictable as this race has been, this portion of it seems quite predictable. Hillary Clinton’s detractors will point out that her plan raises taxes significantly, and eschew her plans for spending taxpayers’ money. Donald Trump’s detractors will note that his plan will decrease taxes too dramatically, and provides no means to tackle the $19 trillion national debt.

A number of resources exist that explain the two main candidates’ tax plans. Although less detailed than some others, an easy-to-read comparison was published recently by Wolters Kluwer/CCH. It can be found here.
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